Agent to Neal Barrett,
Jr.: "[Interstate Dreams] is maybe the best book I've ever read.
It should be taught in college classes."

Barrett to agent:
"Fine. Where do you want to sell it?"

Agent: "Oh, I don't
think I can sell it anywhere..."

A veteran of fifty
published novels, Barrett's signature works -- The Hereafter Gang,
Interstate Dreams, Pink Vodka Blues -- defy neat publishing
categories. That makes them hard to sell to "the industry," but not to
readers. They crave Barrett's genre cocktails. Hollywood options them,
and no less an authority than The Washington Post called The
Hereafter Gang "one of the great American novels."

Crescent Blues:
You started writing and drawing comic books as a child. How did you go
on from there?

Neal
Barrett, Jr.: I loved to draw, but it soon became clear that I wasn't
any good. Even the other little kids could see that. So I started leaving
out the art and just doing the balloons. I thought, "My God, I've invented
prose!"

Crescent Blues:
Do you recall any useful experiences from your pre-writing employment
-- the desk jobs you went through that you feel helped your writing career?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
I started writing short stories and poems when I was in the fourth grade,
at about age 10. I sent the poems in to the Saturday Evening Post.
Didn't sell any of them, of course. But my point here is that I felt I
did have a writing career, even then -- that I didn't want any of those
desk jobs you mention. Which, later on, made working in an office even
more hellish than I'd imagined.

To
answer the question, no -- the only positive factor that came out of working
in the corporate world was the increasing desire to get out of it. Desk
jobs greatly interfere with your work. You can use their copying machines
and steal their paper and pens, but that's all such jobs are good for.
Except the salary, of course, but they owe that to you for making you
so miserable.

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
That's how Bill and I met. We were both doing readings in Austin. He read
from Resume With Monsters, and I read from The Hereafter
Gang. It was clear at once that we were kindred souls and would
eat Chinese food together forever. Both of these novels, of course, are
about guys who would do anything to avoid working for some corporate slave
lord.

Crescent Blues:
Was it difficult to break into the professional writing market, and what
type of stories did you originally write?

Neal
Barrett, Jr.: I was lucky, I guess. I sold my first two stories to Amazing
and Galaxy. They both appeared in the August, l960 issues.
I had a novelette in the October l960, issue of Galaxy,
and a novella in the November Toronto Star Weekly. That
particular story was about 35,000 words long, and it was about the first
caveman who brought a blonde back to the tribe. You can take it from there.
Trouble ensued almost at once. I stuck with [science fiction (SF)] for
a long time. I still do it, though I've branched out into other fields.

Several highlights
of discovery come to mind: one, a hardback of Best Supernatural
Stories of H.P. Lovecraft (1946) and the February l945 issue of
Astounding Science Fiction. Prior to all this, was the l943
publication of The Pocket Book of Science Fiction (25 cents).
I was totally hooked.

Yes,
there were paperbacks that cost 25 cents. And there were dime novels.
I discovered paperbacks one day around 1942 when I was twelve, walking
home from school. (I always stopped at the drug store to look at magazines.)
And on this day, a miracle occurred. There, before my eyes, was a rack
of about five paperback books. I'd never seen them before, and neither
had anyone else. The first one was Lost Horizon. I bought
it at once, and I vowed, right there, that I would, henceforth, buy every
new paperback book as it came out. I was able to keep up for about a week,
then the whole thing got out of hand. Hey, who knew they would publish
uncountable millions of the things?

Crescent Blues:
When did you feel comfortable moving to a full-time career as a writer?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
I quit my last job about l973. That's when I thought the time was right.
I was comfortable in my head, but what did I know? I'd sold about 20 short
stories and novelettes, and 5 novels by then. Was I really ready? No.

Crescent
Blues: What was your first novel, and how do you feel it differs from
your present day writing?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
It was Kelwin, published by Lancer in l970. It was a post-disaster
novel, and contained people like the pseudo-Sioux, the yellow-skinned
wizards of Hunan, etc., in a gloomy North America. The hero, Kelwin the
Broon, was an "Archaic," a guy who bought and sold ancient relics, got
into a lot of trouble and got out by the skin of his teeth. I think it
was a pretty good novel for its time. And yes, I hope to God it differs
from my present day writing. I'd be appalled if it didn't.

Crescent Blues:
Your Aldair novels posit pigs in charge of things. Were you inspired by
George Orwell's Animal Farm, or did something else motivate this
series?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
Did you notice pigs are still in charge of things? And no, it wasn't Orwell.
I'm not sure where the idea came from. Probably a lot of places. The idea
was that Man had become so debased he created parodies of himself for
his amusement: Pigs were Romans, wolves were wild Saxons, lizards were
Arabs, etc. Then, Man disappeared, and these creatures were on their own,
having no idea how they came about. So, they proceeded to make all the
mistakes their creator made.

I
loved doing the Aldair series. It was a hell of a lot of fun. I still
think some enlightened publisher will put these four books out again.
Maybe someone over there in Aldair's Albion, or in the Colonies themselves.

Crescent Blues:
In l986 you wrote your best-received novel up to then, Through Darkest
America (copies of which now sell for $195 each). The sequel, Dawn's
Uncertain Light, followed in l989. These books present a bleak post-apocalyptic
world, replete with cannibalism and a civil war. How do you feel about
these books now? Were they major milestones in your career, or just part
of a continuous process of developing themes that interest you?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
They were milestones in my mind, and in the minds of critics and readers.
Unfortunately, they were published by a house that had never done fiction
before and soon became disenchanted with the idea. Even with paperback
publication in the U.S. and Great Britain, the books never got out to
a greater public. I'm very pleased that they're remembered fondly now.

The
books were very different from the stories and novels I had been doing
up to then. Humor was, and still is, my favorite way to tell a story.
These two books were definitely not funny. I recall some encyclopedia
of SF that said something like: "These are terrific books. Don't read
them!" To my mind, that's a great recommendation.

Crescent Blues:
You've worked on different kinds of fiction -- historicals, westerns,
science fiction and mystery. Could you give Crescent Blues readers
who might be unfamiliar with your work an idea of what you've done in
these fields?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
I don't know if you have room for all this. I've written close to fifty
novels in a number of different fields. This is the sort of thing a great
many professional writers have to do, while they're writing great works
of art. I have tried to write by a single rule: even if you're writing
something when you'd rather be writing something else, write as a professional,
and do the best you can. If you don't, the reader will most certainly
know.

Crescent
Blues: Your Blues mystery series are becoming well known for their unusual
humor. For example, in Dead Dog Blues, the killer wires his victims
to emulate living actions, e.g., the dead dog barks (with the aid of a
Walkman). Where do you get your inspiration for these?

Neal Barrett : I don't
have the slightest idea. Yeah, I do, too. People always ask writers where
they get their ideas, as well they should. The answer is, if you've been
in this profession for a while, "inspirations" or "ideas" are your stock
in trade. That's what you think about. That's how life passing by translates
to you: it's a story or a piece of a story. It comes to you without even
trying; more ideas, scraps and notions than you can possibly ever use.
Good ideas, bad ideas. I think this is true for everybody. Whatever you
do in life, you tend to filter incoming mail through the channels that
mean the most to you.

Crescent Blues:
In Pink Vodka Blues, alcoholic editor Russell wakes up to find
his female companion shot and himself chased across the nation. He engages
in several shoot-outs, including one with a 70-year-old Uzi-toting woman.
I understand the book was optioned for a movie. Can you tell our readers
anything more about this?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
Pink Vodka Blues was optioned for a couple of years by producer
David Brown. Then Paramount simply bought it outright. I have no idea
when it will be filmed, or if it ever will. Writers hardly ever have any
involvement with the way the movie is shot. They are generally not involved
in anything about the movie and are usually not welcome anywhere near
the action. I was paid, and paid well -- just as if the movie were to
be made. There are whole buildings in Hollywood full of scripts that will
sit there forever. I hope they do mine someday.

Crescent Blues:
You've received acclaim for your Blues mysteries, Through Darkest America
and particularly The Hereafter Gang. Which do you feel is your
best novel? Which would you prefer to see as a movie?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
The novel I'd like to be remembered for is The Hereafter Gang.
I'm very proud of it. It has always had a big following since it was published
in l991. Critic John Clute, in a Washington Post review,
said it was "one of the great American novels." Hey, you can't argue with
that. Now, it has been republished as a trade paperback, along with a
new novel, Interstate Dreams, both available through Mojo
Press. Interstate Dreams is the book I feel would
make the best movie. That one, and Dead Dog Blues. I'd hate
to see what they'd do to The Hereafter Gang. If you've read
it, you'll know why. I have a number of short stories I'd like to see
filmed.

Crescent Blues:
Why don't you take it from here. Consider Crescent Blues an open
forum. We don't edit or censor, unless the topic is blatantly illegal.

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
Well, that pretty well leaves me stranded, doesn't it? Legally speaking,
though, I've got a lot of things going at the moment, and I thank you
for letting me talk to your readers.

As I mentioned, The
Hereafter Gang and a new novel, Interstate Dreams
are out in trade paperback now. So is a collection of short stories called
Perpetuity Blues. The latter comes from Golden
Gryphon Press.

One of the questions
you asked me has a lot to do with the above three books, all three of
which came out from small presses. You asked: "Despite your legions of
fans and the rave reviews and awards your books and short stories have
garnered over the years, mainstream publishing seems to have a problem
categorizing your work. Why do you think this is so?" Excellent question.
Basically, the story of my writing career.

Most of my writing
is "off beat," off- the-wall," etc. What that means is although it's good,
even great sometimes -- hey, it's not just me that says it -- an editor
sees my work and says: "This stuff is terrific. However, I'd like to keep
my job, and the minute my boss sees this thing he'll know it is not, in
any way, like the crap we've been buying.

"He'll say: 'I don't
know what this is, but it is definitely not a best seller. Now get back
to your miserable cubicle and find something the average dork likes to
read. Do you like working here, son? Go back and find me a book about
lawyers, doctors, rich guys who save the world from evil persons who aren't
even Americans, a book about a younger woman and a wise, older guy who
meet at a sheep-shearing contest out West. You want to get somewhere in
this biz? Find me a book that has all of the above, and we'll see about
the twenty buck raise you're always whining about...'"

This is basically
the problem, or at least I believe it is. I have seldom been what you'd
call commercial. I'm not especially proud of the fact, but there you are.
I expect I'll keep doing what I do, and writing things I love to write,
and some that I don't.

Crescent Blues:
Can you tell us a little about what you're doing now?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
I'm very pleased with one particular project in the works. I did a short
story for Dragon magazine called "The Lizard Shoppe." It's
a fantasy about a guy who makes mechanical lizards. (In his world, there
weren't any lizards. It's just an idea that occurred to him one day.)
The story won an award, and Bantam liked the idea. I've just finished
the first of two books for them, based on the characters in "The Lizard
Shoppe." It's called The Perilous Prophecy Machine, and
should be out in December of 2000. The next one is titled, The Foul
Treachery of Kings. I'm really having fun with this idea.

I've done novelizations
of Judge Dredd and Barb Wire. I just completed
a novelization of the upcoming movie, Dungeons and Dragons.
I write a column in Amazing Stories called "Ask Dr. Sciense,"
and yes, that's the way the good doctor spells it. You asked about pitfalls
in projects like novelizations. Usually, these books come rather easily.
You get the shooting script, and translate it into a novel. There's a
lot of room here for your own original work. You can go into more detail,
add something to the characterization, and put in some extra scenes.

A little about short
stories. I love to write short stories, and I've gained a lot of readers
that way. The trouble is, it's a luxury habit, because you can't live
off short story money.

What do I want to
do next? The truth? I'm going in several directions right now. Ask me
later and I'll know. I have several novels I want to see turned into motion
pictures. And who doesn't? What a movie sale does for you is buy you good
writing time. It allows you to write exactly what you want to write, for
a good long while. And that, basically, is what a writer wants to do --
not what someone else wants us to do, which, again, goes back to the salability
factor I talked about above. This is a really bizarre profession, but
I have no other skills, so this is what I do.

Sometimes people ask
me what kinds of book or stories I read growing up. The answer -- and
for most writers, I think -- is damn near everything. I read the magazines
my folks bought -- marvelous primeval magazines that vanished some time
ago: Bluebook (the best), Liberty, Colliers,
The Saturday Evening Post. All the Edgar Rice Burroughs
books, everything imaginable, everything I could find. I read A. Conan
Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, [A.E.] Van Vogt, [Ernest] Hemmingway, [John] Steinbeck,
Thomas Wolfe. All the good stuff, and the bad stuff as well. I still do.
Today I read Charles Willeford, Lawrence Block, Patrick O'Brian, Bernard
Cornwell, Stephen Hunter, Michael Connelly, and the historical series
by Sharon Key Penman. On and on. Who do I respect? A few, including Cordwainer
Smith. (No one has ever been like him, and no one ever will be.) Terry
Bisson. William Browning Spencer. Joe Lansdale. Lots of others. John le
Carre.

Crescent Blues:
Anything else?

Neal Barrett, Jr.:
Sure. How much time have you got? Thanks for asking...